S/V L'ORIENT

Herb, not worried about the 8 degree temp in Wisconsin We welcomed Kirstin's father on to the boat last month for a three week vacation, splitting time between Panama's San Blas Islands and Bocas del Toro. Herb, pictured above testing the air pressure in our paddle board, seems to have adapted to the cruising life quite quickly. The intrepid crew of L'ORIENT  It doesn't get better than this. Look Dad - We organized this parade for you!! Bocas del Toro While we had fully intended to provide Herb with a relaxing time, we fear his indoctrination to the cruising life was a bit more boisterous. Herb displayed a unique taste in souvenirs. We 're sure TSA didn't find it humorous. Our Thanksgiving with Herb kind of epitomized life during Panama's rainy season. We anchored off Maquina Island and, after an amazing day of touring this typical Guna Indian island, we busted out the turkey burgers (best we could do). We also thoughtfully provide

Adorable, yet not so snuggly sloth  Walking out of the marina grocery store we encountered a juvenile male sloth (kind of personal how we know that). He seems to have blundered into the marina area from the jungle and was seeking a tree to go to sleep in (they sleep 18 hrs per day). This one wasn't the smartest sloth on the island as he kept choosing bushes, slippery trees, and poor hiding spots for the site of his next nap. Since I snuggle (or at least try) all living creatures I rubbed his back.......until he swung at me in very slow motion with his huge claws. Plenty of time to dodge that attack. It was like being in the "the Matrix". Smiling in ignorance- the tree he's "climbing" is only 2 ft tall We've realized that everything on a boat (or in our case, a yacht) lasts about 10 years. Radar ? Broke like clockwork (2.1 kilo-dollars). Wind instrument ? Shorted out right on schedule (0.2 kilo-dollars). VHF ? Bailed on us like a rat off a sinki

Not our favorite sight There are sailors that tempt the "roaring 40s", make winter runs in the Bering Sea, and even brave tropical storms to test....we're not sure what. That's not us. We try to keep sailing safe, relaxed, and mellow. How is this done? We keep L'ORIENT in great mechanical shape but, more importantly, we check the weather obsessively. Storm coming? We can wait (after all, we don't have a whole lot going on). What throws off these intentions is when the weather report and actual conditions deviate in a meaningful way - like last week. Colon to Bocas del Toro, Panama should have been a milk run. Heading due west...only 120 miles...should be relaxed and fun. Until it wasn't. An unscheduled mega-lightning storm emerged at that witching hour when all bad things happen on passages, 3:00 AM. There is a fear and helplessness that's hard to describe in this situation. You are seated between two lightning rods (your masts) on an otherw

So our loyal readers have become worried........where the hell is L'ORIENT ? No blog posts for three months. Sometimes we forget the huge role we play in people's lives. This doesn't surprise me, it just slips my mind because I'm me-centered. Once again an empty promise- we'll try to do better. But for those readers who don't live in the third world........you should try to come here yourself and manage probably the most important and influential lifestyle blog in Central America.......not easy. Bad internet, extreme heat, lethargy, sloth, alcohol..........all these combine to create a toxic stew of inaction. Whatever. But now to something important.......money. Snoop Dogg's seminal invocation lamenting the high price of narcotics and escort services in Long Beach County is apt here. We too "got our mind on our money and our money on our mind".  Wait, that doesn't look like Central America ! We're spending kilo-dollars on